"The air defence of
the tribes shot down a warplane over Wadi Nushur, in Saada,"
Houthi news channel Al Maseera said. The channel broadcasted
pictures showing local tribesmen celebrating a victory near the
F-16 wreckage.

The Iran-backed Shia group claimed the Moroccan jet was downed by
a surface-to-air missile in Wadi Nashour area in the northwestern
province of Saada, a Houthi stronghold near the border with Saudi
Arabia, while conducting airstrikes Sunday.

Moroccan Royal Armed Forces, representing one of eight Arab
states to have joined Saudi Arabia’s coalition, said that their
F-16 fighter jet that took part in the Saudi-led bombing campaign
in Yemen had gone missing.

"One of the F-16s of the Royal Armed Force put at the
disposal of the coalition led by Saudi Arabia to restore
legitimacy in Yemen went missing on Sunday at 6pm local
time," the statement said.

The Royal Armed Force, however, would not confirm the video aired
by Al Maseera.

"It is definitely inside Yemen and it is a single pilot on
board," the Saudi official told AFP, speaking on condition
of anonymity.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense later announced that the jet
had been located. It added that pilot’s condition was unknown.

The disappearance of the F-16 could jeopardize a five-day
humanitarian truce proposed by Saudi Arabia starting Tuesday.
While the Houthis accepted the ceasefire, Colonel Sharaf Luqman
said any violation of the ceasefire would prompt a military
response.

The Saudi-led operation against Houthi militia forces has entered
its seventh week. Nearly 1,250 people have been killed, and at
least 5,044 people injured between March 19 and April 27, the
World Health Organization said Friday. Local estimates on the
ground are much higher.

Houthi rebels took control of the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in
September 2014, in a move that forced Sunni President Abd-Rabbu
Mansour Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia.